Istanbul is the largest city in Turkey, straddling the Bosporus Strait, the boundary between Europe and Asia. It is considered the … See more

Neolithic artifacts, uncovered by archeologists at the beginning of the 21st century, indicate that Istanbul's historic peninsula was … See more

Districts and neighborhoods
European side
The Fatih district, which was named after Mehmed II (Turkish: Fatih Sultan Mehmed), corresponds to what was the whole of Constantinople until the Ottoman conquest; today it … See more

Throughout most of its history, Istanbul has ranked among the largest cities in the world. By 500 CE, Constantinople had somewhere between 400,000 and 500,000 people, edging out its predecessor, Rome, for the world's largest city. Constantinople jostled with other … See more

The first known name of the city is Byzantium (Greek: Βυζάντιον Byzántion), the name given to it at its foundation by Megarian colonists around 657 BCE. Megarian colonists … See more

Istanbul is in north-western Turkey and straddles the Bosporus Strait, which provides the only passage from the Black Sea to … See more

Since 2004, the municipal boundaries of Istanbul have been coincident with the boundaries of its province. The city, considered capital of the larger Istanbul Province, is administered by the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM, Turkish: İstanbul Büyükşehir … See more